CAMDEN - A 62-year-old man was killed in a house fire shortly after midnight Friday and his 90-year-old father was rescued by still-unidentified good Samaritans, officials said.

The three-story home in the Camden's historic Cooper Grant neighborhood had valuable works of art inside, Deputy Fire Chief Ed Glassman said.

What it apparently did not have, said Fire Chief Michael Harper, was a working smoke detector.

Harper said "a textbook fire for our firefighters" was spotted by neighbors across the street at an apartment building owned by Rutgers–Camden. Students saw flames coming from a third-floor bedroom and called 911; some posted video of the fire on social media.

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A city crew boards up the front window at a home on Cooper Street.(Photo: Phaedra Trethan/Staff photographer)

Two people, however, who may have been Rutgers students, rushed in to rescue a 90-year-old man from the home at 206 Cooper St. Responding firefighters saw them coming out of the home with the victim as they were entering it, Harper said.

Mary Beth Daisey of Rutgers' Division of Student Affairs said the university had not identified the students as of Friday afternoon, but was seeking to do so in order to recognize them for their bravery.

Harper said the blaze was reported at 12:13 a.m. Friday, with firefighters on scene by 12:17. It was brought under control at 12:48, but the body of John Parker, 62, was found in the rear third-floor bedroom where the fire originated.

"Unfortunately, when (firefighters) got to the third floor and got to where the fire was, using one of our thermal imaging cameras, the officer from Ladder 1 noticed that we did have a fatality in the room," Harper said.

The fire is under investigation, he added, although he said he believes it was accidental.

The 90-year-old resident was taken to Cooper University Hospital for evaluation, officials said, and would probably remain overnight for observation.

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Nyeema Watson of Rutgers-Camden and Mayor Frank Moran stand outside the scene of a fire. Good Samaritans who may be university students came to the victims' aid, offcials said.(Photo: Phaedra Trethan/Staff photographer)

Harper called the efforts of the civilian rescuers "really remarkable."

"It's dangerous ... obviously when we go into fires, we wear protective equipment, and also self-contained breathing apparatus," the chief added. "It's a hazard."

The "textbook" nature of the fire was such that air movement prevented too much smoke from accumulating in one place, enabling the rescuers to get in and out quickly, he said.

Mayor Frank Moran said the home was occupied by the owners since at least the 1990s.

According to DVRBS.com and Camden historian Phil Cohen, the home dates to at least 1891. It was once home to the College of South Jersey Law School, the predecessor to Rutgers Law School.

There was only minimal damage to 204 Cooper St., the adjoining home, Harper said. He and other city officials were working to get those residents back into their home Friday.